The popularity of ordering food online is on an impressive rise. Consumers have turned to solutions that simplify their lives: direct-to-consumer delivery, creative pickup options and the ability to order meals through a mobile app. Today, many restaurants rely on the data surrounding these options to make important business decisions on how to provide the best customer service. According to Restaurant Inside, a staggering 60% of U.S. consumers order delivery or takeout once a week and another 45% said they will choose to order at one restaurant over another if they offer mobile ordering.
Currently, you can find mobile pick-up shelves at many well-known fast-casual restaurants or through third-party delivery services, which often have added fees. Digital ordering and delivery have grown 300% faster than dine-in traffic in the past six years and – even before the new coronavirus swept across the U.S. – visits to restaurants where guests paid by a mobile app increased by 50% from 2017 to 2018. This resulted in many takeout restaurants remodeling their facilities to add off-premise services, instore kiosks, to-go counters, or similar features. The need for these types of options will only increase in a post-COVID-19 world that is looking to reduce person to person contact.
Ordering online is now one of the primary sources of revenue for many restaurants. With mobile pick-up shelves gaining in popularity, it is important to ask some basic questions: how do restaurants keep food orders hot or cold, and how do they avoid orders accidentally picked up by another who shares the same name? One company based in Houston, Texas took these restaurant industry issues seriously and developed a workable solution: simplified, smart lockers.
The Yummy Box® by clevtech, is a food locker designed to free restaurant operators from the old model of having to staff takeout counters, monitor mobile pickup shelves, and overcome delivery fees associated with partnering with third-party delivery services. This is all while keeping employees safe with social distancing and cleanliness protocol.
"I’m thrilled with the collaboration with Codelocks and GoKeyless and the complete solution we were able to develop together"
Up to 70% of consumers say they would rather order directly from a restaurant, preferring that their money goes straight to the restaurant and not a third party. To keep with this statistic, The Yummy Box® allows the customer to place an order on the restaurant’s website. From there, the customer will get an SMS notifying them when their order is ready for pick up, eliminating the need to staff pick-up counters and instead, it frees up staff to focus on the dine-in experience, interact with more customers, and get more productive work completed.
Once the food is ready, the restaurant uses The Yummy Box® system to access the locker and place the food in the thermally insulated compartments. These lockers can keep hot and cold food at the optimum temperature, even if they are both in one locker. Once the food has been placed in the locker, the customer will be notified via SMS. When the customer replies to the SMS with, “on my way,” the status of their box is updated, providing a visual alert to the restaurant staff, and sending a verification code to the customer to access their locker – and order – upon arrival.
“The customer arrives and can go straight to The Yummy Box without needing to wait at the counter or ask a staff member for information,” said Nelson. “They just type in their verification code on The Yummy Box kiosk and follow the quick on-screen instruction to grab-and-go. We wanted to keep the process simple and easy, ultimately, making the entire process happen in about 20 seconds,” said Nelson.
The most important aspect when looking for a locking solution was the ability to allow the same lockers to be accessed by different codes multiple times a day. Nelson first did research on locks and developed a relationship with GoKeyless, a distributor and expert on keyless access and security products. Codelocks, a leading access control company that designs and distributes innovative, standalone keyless door locks and access solutions, teamed up with GoKeyless and clevtech to provide the exact lock that Nelson needed. After discussing the needs of The Yummy Box®, GoKeyless provided them with the KitLock by Codelocks KL1000 NetCode® locker lock
“The selling point of the KL1000 NetCode is the three modes of operation. The lock facilitates standard locker use in the initial phase of the business whilst enabling future growth. As the business expands, the use of the product can adapt. The locks are easy to install and program and allow up to 15,000 openings before batteries need to be replaced, “said Nelson.
Currently, clevtech is using the lock in Public Function, a function that is used for short-term, multiple occupancy applications. First, a four-digit code is entered to lock the locker, then the same code is used to unlock. The lock remains open, ready for a new code and new user. Nelson is looking to utilize the KL1000 NetCode product to its full potential in the near future. The NetCode functionality allows temporary access with time-sensitive code generation via the Codelocks Connect Portal or the Codelocks Application Interface (API). Integration will allow remote management and easy code generation with more options on specific time, date, and duration. NetCodes will be sent via email or SMS.
"KitLock by Codelocks has been a large part of how successful The Yummy Box has been"
Currently, The Yummy Box® has built-in sanitation dispensers for each of their lockers and increases the confidence of customers and staff by minimizing human-to-human interaction and transmission. These lockers allow for reduced crowds in waiting areas to help with social distancing and secures online orders from theft and crosscontamination. As of now, The Yummy Box® has been deployed in multiple restaurants in Texas and Wisconsin.
Not only do these lockers allow for a simplified ordering process, clevtech is the first company to bring smart lockers that are made out of 100% recyclable materials to the market – 57% salt, 42% petroleum and some chlorine.
“As of April 2021, The Yummy Box has processed over 5,000 error-free orders. We are reimagining order pickup with a focus on simple design, contactless pickup and eco-friendly technology,” said Nelson. “I’m thrilled with the collaboration with Codelocks and GoKeyless and the complete solution we were able to develop together. KitLock by Codelocks has been a large part of how successful The Yummy Box has been.”
18, May 2021